KUCHING: An early morning inferno left 33 tenants with only their clothes on their back after the five houses they were living in were razed today.
No one was injured as the victims managed to scramble to safety.
The fire occurred around 1.45am at Lorong 1, Kampung Pulo Ulu, here.
A car and four motorcycles were completely destroyed in the blaze.
A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said firemen from Petra Jaya, Padungan and Tabuan Jaya stations were promptly despatched to the scene after they received an emergency call.
But by the time the firefighters arrived, the three double-storey and two single-storey houses could not be saved. All they could do was to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby houses.
The firemen had to source for more water from a nearby fire hydrant and a river. The flames were brought under control at 2.18am.
The actual cause of the fire and losses incurred are yet to be ascertained.
